Category Archives: # Honouring the War Dead by abolishing War

Tomorrow we honour and remember all those who exercised their conscience and chose not to fight nor to kill in the service of the state. I will remember my father who spent 4 years in detention for his beliefs but I will also remember many others who made a big impact on me as an adolescent, Ormie Burton , a decorated World War One soldier who turned pacifist as a consequence of his experiences during the First World War. Archie Barrington, Bub Hyland, Merv and Marj Browne, Chris Palmer, Dave Sylvester, who endured detention and then developed a Christian Pacifist Community ( Riverside) at the end of the war to try and live according to strict nonviolent Christian and communitarian principles. I’ll remember, Bert Worboys, John McCreary, Wilf Foote, Jack Hammerton and many others. These I knew well. Continue reading →

Lead me from death to life
From Falsehood to truth
Lead me from despair to hope
From fear to trust.
Lead me from hate to lobe
From war to peace
Let peace fill our hearts,
Our world, our universe. Continue reading →

So when you see division and polarization occurring and then demonization and enmification you know that the dynamics are conducive to vicious violence.When these things happen we’re no longer adhering to any humanist , socialist or pacifist principle but something much less civilised. Continue reading →

Uniting for Peace:Building sustainable Peace Through Universal Values Kevin P Clements The 25th General Conference of the International Peace Research Association is nearly over. 500 people came from all around the world to Istanbul Turkey to learn about ways in … Continue reading →

Singapore to Istanbul:Boundaries of Blood and Tears Kevin P Clements I had an enforced stopover in Singapore of 6 hours, almost as long as it took me to fly from Christchurch. There’s a limit to how many phone calls, … Continue reading →